Nile Stephenson

Nile is the Roger Evans and Aey Phanachet Research Fellow in Co-evolution and Symbiosis. He is based in the Department of Zoology. His research broadly encompasses understanding how ecosystems change in time and space. In his fellowship, Nile will be focussing on how the ecological dynamics of coral reefs change as they experience the effects of climate change. In his work, he uses a range of mathematical models and field techniques to assess whole-ecosystem processes on coral reefs in the Seychelles, integrating spatial maps of coral reefs, behavioural data on sharks, and environmental data. A key aspect of his work is disentangling the drivers of ecosystem stability, and seeking to understand the fundamental properties that contribute towards stable states in ecology. He is also interested in how ecosystems have changed through deep time, particularly focusing on critical transitions in evolutionary history such as the evolution of animals.

Nile studied at Aberystwyth University and the University of Exeter before his PhD at the University of Cambridge (St. Catharine’s College), which he completed in 2025.